Church and State Gets Blurred Again at Kearny High School
By Nathan Bupp
Matthew LaClair, student president of the Center for Inquiry’s campus outreach initiative, recently alerted us that his former history teacher, David Paszkiewicz, is at it again. You may recall Mr. Paskiewicz—he’s the one who was recorded by LaClair telling students that dinosaurs were on Noah’s Ark and if “you reject the Lord’s salvation, you belong in hell,” as reported by the New York Times on December 18, 2006. This time, he is acting as the advisor of a Christian club at Kearny High School, called the Alpha and Omega Club, which has scheduled an interesting and troubling field trip.
It seems that the club scheduled a field trip June 5 through June 7 to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. LaClair learned about the field trip about two weeks ago while reading the Kearny High School newspaper. Flabbergasted by what he had discovered, LaClair began his own investigation, discovering that the educational rationale provide by Paszkiewicz for this trip was to expose students to “the science behind creationism.” With that justification, it was approved by the Department Head and the Principal, as well as the Board of Education.
LaClair immediately raised a protest by contacting the Board attorney of the Kearny School District (10 miles outside of Manhattan in New Jersey). With the help of Barry Lynn (of Americans United) and the law firm of Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher, LaClair was successful in convincing the school board to postpone the beginning of the trip, thereby assuring that students and faculty would only be involved outside of school hours. LaClair was also successful in getting the Kearny School District to remove from their Web site the Christian Alpha and Omega Club listing under the ostensibly secular “History and Social Science” department.
Troubling issues remain however.
For one thing, these events suggest that school administrators were seriously asleep at the wheel. It took a 19 year old student, who doesn’t even go to the school anymore, to find out, investigate, and raise questions about the trip. The Department Head and Principal both saw the initial field trip request form, and did nothing. The Board of Education either was not watching closely enough or did just not care. Either way, they approved the trip.
In a letter sent to Kearny School Board attorney Kenneth J. Lindenfelser from the law firm of Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher (a firm retained by the LaClair family in the past) attorney Richard Mancino writes: “We are disappointed to find that the administrators of Kearny High School have so cavalierly acquiesced in conduct that, once again, threatens to trespass the boundary between church and state. This is all the more surprising in light of the prior experience with Mr. Paszkiewicz which led to the School Board’s entering into the 2007 Settlement and endorsing the training on the impermissible promotion of religion.”
What we have now is a situation where a public school teacher with strong religious convictions and a record of proselytizing is being allowed to serve as the advisor of a religious club and use his position to have a public school approve a patently religious-based fieldtrip. It is permissible, under certain conditions, to have religious clubs in public schools, but their faculty advisors are supposed to be neutral. The School Board has apparently decided that Paszkiewicz can be a “neutral” advisor to the Alpha and Omega Club, but his ability to remain neutral seems questionable at best, especially in light of his past behavior. Paszkiewicz has overtly and repeatedly discussed and promoted religious beliefs with his students in the past, and his proposed fieldtrip to the Creation Museum demonstrates that he continues to do so today, dangerously blurring the line between his own personal faith commitments and his obligations as a teacher in a government-funded public school system.
The Center for Inquiry has urged school administrators and the Kearny School Board to carefully investigate what appears to be a blatant disregard on the part of Mr. Paszkiewicz for the Establishment Clause and the constitutional constraints it places on proselytizing to students on behalf of his own personal religious beliefs.
Nathan Bupp is the Vice President of Communications for the Center for Inquiry
The Council for Secular Humanism is committed to free inquiry, reason, and science, the separation of Church and State, civil liberties, nontheism and humanist ethics. It does not endorse candidates or parties, nor does it take political positions as a corporate body. We open our publications to a wide range of opinions, including dissenting viewpoints; opinions expressed in columns and articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Council.
From: Secular Humanism Online News, June 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
http://www.secularhumanism.org/
==========
Kersten’s back at the Strib… and riling up atheists
After a several-month hiatus, Katherine Kersten’s lightning rod-conservatism is back at the Star Tribune, and her edgy, faith-tinged opinion hasn’t failed to disappoint those looking for controversy. Her Sunday-only column this week took aim at atheism and what she perceives as its detrimental impact on society. She argues that without faith in God, people have no basis to form a moral framework. As a society we are embracing atheism, she writes, “[b]ut before we do, we would be wise to consider the potential consequences.”
Complete article at:
http://minnesotaindependent.com/36583/kerstens-back-at-the-strib-and-riling-up-atheists
==========
Separating church and state
“The recent decision by Oklahoma lawmakers to allow a Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol could be put on hold now that a federal court has ruled on a similar monument. A federal appeals court in Denver has ruled Haskell County’s monument endorses religion and has asked a federal judge in Muskogee to issue a ruling consistent with their decision.”
Complete article at:
http://www.normantranscript.com/opinion/local_story_161013351
==========
AU Double Press Release :: IRS Should Investigate Virginia Church :: Oklahoma Ten Commandments Display
Monday, June 8, 2009
IRS Should Investigate Virginia Church For Partisan Politicking, Says Americans United
Fifth Street Baptist Church In Richmond May Have Violated Federal Tax Law With Moran Appearance And Endorsement, Watchdog Group Says
Read the full press release at au.org
http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/06/irs-should-investigate.html
Read AU’s letter to the IRS (PDF).
Americans United Applauds Court Decision Striking Down Oklahoma County’s Commandments Display
Ruling Prevents Government From Co-opting Religious Symbols, Church-State Watchdog Group Says
Read the full press release at au.org
http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/06/au-applauds-court-decision.html
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
==========
AU Press Release :: AU Expresses Disappointment Over Court Ruling Allowing Public School Graduations In Wisconsin Church
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Americans United Expresses Disappointment Over Court Ruling Allowing Public School Graduations In Wisconsin Church
Decision Is Loss For All Students And The Constitution, Says AU’s Lynn
June 2, 2009
A federal judge today ruled that a Wisconsin public school district can hold high school graduation ceremonies in a church.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which sponsored the litigation to stop this practice of the Elmbrook School District in Brookfield, Wisc., expressed regret over the decision.
“Public school graduations should always be held at locations where all families feel welcome,” said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “This decision fails to respect all students and the Constitution.”
Read the full press release at au.org
http://www.au.org/media/press-releases/archives/2009/06/au-expresses-disappointment.html
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
==========
Conservatives attack Shep Smith for his Holocaust museum shooting remarks, call for firing
In response to Shepard Smith’s remarks that the Holocaust museum shooting validated a recent DHS report on right-wing extremism, several conservative media figures have attacked Smith or called for his firing from Fox News.
Read More
http://mediamatters.org/items/200906110030?lid=1043062&rid=29494065
==========
The Dynamics of Dinosaurs and Other Extinct Giants
Examines how prehistoric animals lived, moved, and finally died out by using drawings and charts to make comparisons with large modern animals such as elephants.
==========
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel Dennett
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon ~ Daniel C. Dennett
==========
Borowitz Report – Major Upset
Ahmadinejad Wins Stanley Cup
Scores Two Hat Tricks in Upset
In what many are describing as an upset victory of unprecedented proportions, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins last night to win the 2009 Stanley Cup, Iran’s Interior Ministry announced today.
According to the ministry, which Mr. Ahmadinejad runs, the Iranian hard-liner defeated the Penguins by a score of 6-0, scoring two hat tricks in the victory.
But Penguins star Evgeni Malkin immediately disputed Mr. Ahmadinejad’s claim, arguing that the Iranian president did not even appear in the game.
Mr. Ahmadinejad scoffed at Mr. Malkin’s charge, stating, “He’s just pissed that I was named MVP.”
The Iranian president took time out from celebrating his Stanley Cup win to announce that he had just been named Poet Laureate of England.
Andy’s Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
July 9, 2009 at 7:00PM
Washington, DC!Andy performs a free stand-up show and talks to his wife Olivia Gentile about her new book, LIFE LIST: A Woman’s Quest for the World’s Most Amazing Birds. Olivia will sign her book and Andy will sign copies of his new book, WHO MOVED MY SOAP? The CEO’s Guide to Surviving in Prison: Bernie Madoff Edition.
Location:
Politics & Prose Bookstore, 5015 Connecticut Ave.
http://www.borowitzreport.com/
==========
three thousand words
|
Paul Berge
Q Syndicate May 20, 2009 |
150 years ago, this is what “traditional” marriage meant.
(flickr.com)
Mike Peters: how terrorists survive in america
(www.grimmy.com/)